Adjustable mould

ABSTRACT

Devices for bending materials generally include a mold and a holder for supporting the mold. The mold generally includes two halves, each of which extend in a longitudinal direction, and which together enclose a mold cavity. The mold has first and second mold outer walls. The mold halves include parallel elements that are arranged alternatingly in the longitudinal direction. Adjusting slats movably positioned on the holder are configured to form a stop for the first or second mold outer wall.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a device for bending material according to the preamble of the first claim.

PRIOR ART

Such a device is known from EP-1513628. The device described herein comprises a mould and a holder for supporting the mould, the mould comprising a first and a second mould half. The first and second mould halves each extend in a longitudinal direction of the holder and together enclose a mould cavity extending in the longitudinal direction. The first mould half comprises a set of parallel first elements each comprising a first extension and an outer wall. The second mould half comprises a set of parallel second elements each comprising a second extension and an outer wall. The first and second elements extend in a transverse direction and are arranged alternatingly in the longitudinal direction of the mould. The first elements are arranged at a first distance from each other to receive said second extension of the second elements between them. The second elements are arranged at a second distance from each other to receive said first extension of the first elements between them. Said outer walls of the first elements of the first mould half together form the first outer wall of the first mould half, and said outer walls of the second elements of the second mould half together form the second outer wall of the second mould half. The first and the second mould halve in said transverse direction are arranged moveably on the holder such that they can be shifted relative to each other to adjust the width of the mould cavity. The device further comprises adjusting means for adjusting the width of the mould cavity.

The adjusting means known from EP-A-1513628 are adjusting blocks which are manually placed on the holder. When bending material with the aid of the mould, a force is exerted on each of the mould halves that pushes the mould halves away from each other. The adjusting blocks serve as a stop for the first and second elements to prevent the mould halves from moving away from each other. Placing these adjusting blocks is a manual operation and time consuming. Furthermore, the desired width of the mould cavity is also limited to the number of adjusting blocks available.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

It is a first object of this invention to provide a device for bending material, wherein adjusting the width of the mould is less time consuming.

This first goal is achieved by means of the device which exhibits the technical features of the first claim.

In the device according to the invention, the adjusting means comprise a plurality of adjusting slats, wherein the adjusting slats are positioned movable in the longitudinal direction on the holder at the level of the outer walls of at least one of the mould halves. The adjusting slats are carried out such that by moving a number of the adjusting slats, which are adjacent to each other, each time, one of the adjusting slats forms a stop for the corresponding outer walls of the corresponding mould half.

In the device according to the invention, the adjusting means further comprise gripping means for gripping and moving a number of the adjusting slats. Consequently, by moving a different number of the adjusting slats by means of the gripping means, the stop position can be changed.

The device according to the invention has the advantage that one adjusting slat each time serves as a stop for the first elements and the second elements, respectively. By means of the gripping means, which can move a number of the adjusting slats, the stop of the first mould half and/or the stop of the second mould half can be adjusted in order to adjust the width of the mould cavity in a less time-consuming manner.

In an embodiment of the device, the gripping means are provided for moving the adjusting slats in a height direction. In this embodiment, the stop position is changed by moving a number of adjacent adjusting slats in a height direction. Since the width of the mould cavity is proportional to the distance between the first outer wall and the second outer wall, it is thus possible to adjust the width of the mould cavity.

In the embodiment of the device wherein the adjusting slats are displaceable in a height direction, the gripping means are, for example, hydraulically driven lifting means, provided for lifting a variable number of adjusting slats.

In an advantageous embodiment of the device, the adjusting slats have recesses provided for receiving the corresponding outer wall and the gripping means are provided for moving the adjustment slats in the longitudinal direction. In this embodiment, the stop position is changed by moving a number of adjacent adjusting slats in longitudinal direction. By shifting a number of the adjusting slats in the longitudinal direction, it is possible to align the recesses of said number of the adjusting slats with the corresponding outer wall of the corresponding mould half. After that, the corresponding mould half can move in said transverse direction until the corresponding outer wall touches an adjusting slat that has not been moving in the longitudinal direction, and which then forms the stop for the corresponding mould half. In this way, it is possible to increase the distance between the first outer wall and the second outer wall. Conversely, it is also possible to decrease the distance between the first outer wall and the second outer wall. To that end, the corresponding mould half is moved in the transverse direction, after which a number of the adjusting slats are moved in the longitudinal direction to form a new stop. Since the width of the mould cavity is proportional to the distance between the first outer wall and the second outer wall, it is thus possible to change the width of the mould cavity.

In the advantageous embodiment of the device wherein the adjusting slats are movable in the longitudinal direction, the gripping means are, for example, pneumatic or electrically driven gripping means which are provided for gripping a variable number of the adjusting slats and moving them in longitudinal direction. This advantageous embodiment has as advantage over the above-described embodiment that, mechanically speaking, it is simpler and less burdensome to move or lift adjusting slats.

In an embodiment of the device, the holder is provided with a first and a second wall in the longitudinal direction, which respectively serve as stop for the first and the second outer wall of the corresponding mould half, if none of the adjusting slats serve as stop for the corresponding outer wall. The distance between the first and second wall of the holder thus determines the maximum width of the mould cavity. In addition, these outer walls can be provided for absorbing the compressive forces exerted by the mould elements on the adjusting slats during use.

In a further embodiment of the device, the adjusting slats are divided into two sets wherein the first set serves as stop for the first outer wall and the second set serves as stop for the second outer wall. In this further embodiment, it is possible to move each of both mould halves separately.

In the further embodiment of the device, which comprises two sets of adjusting slats, the adjusting slats in said first and second set touch and an adjusting slat of the first set touches said first wall and an adjusting slat of the second set touches said second wall. The device is carried out such that the adjusting slats of a corresponding set between the adjusting slat which serves as stop for the corresponding outer wall and the adjusting slat which touches the corresponding wall form a whole, i.e., that the intermediate slats between the slat which forms the stop and the wall of the holder, move along together with the rest. This has the advantage that the pressure exerted by the mould halves on the stop, when the mould is used to bend material, is transferred to the holder by means of the whole of slats.

In an alternative embodiment of the device, the first mould half is not moveable relative to said holder and the first outer wall always touches said first wall. In this alternative embodiment, the first mould half can thus be fixedly mounted on the holder and only the second mould half is moveable in said transverse direction. Thus, only adjusting slats are provided to determine the stop of the second mould half. This has as advantage over the further embodiment described above that only one gripping means is needed instead of two.

In this alternative embodiment, the device is carried out such that that the adjusting slats touch, and that an adjusting slat touches said second wall, whereby the adjusting slats between the adjusting slat which serves as stop for the second outer wall, and the adjusting slat which touches the second wall, form a whole. The pressure exerted by the second mould half on the stop when the mould is used to bend material, is therefore transferred to the holder by means of the set of slats.

In an embodiment of the device, the holder is a block provided with at least one recess in the longitudinal direction, wherein the adjusting slats are received. The at least one recess ensures it is possible to move the adjusting slats in such a way that they do not form a stop for a corresponding mould half. It is thus possible to move the mould halves up to the walls of the holder to have the widest possible mould cavity opening.

In a further embodiment of the device, the device further comprises displacement means for moving the first mould half relative to the second mould half, the displacement means, in particular, being integrated into the holder and engaging a cavity provided in at least one of the mould halves. This further embodiment allows the mould halves to be moved relative to one another without time-consuming manual actions.

In an advantageous embodiment of the device, the first and the second mould half, respectively comprise a first and a second axis, which are oriented in the longitudinal direction and which are configured to attach said first and second mould elements to. In this advantageous embodiment, the mould is thus adjustable in length by mounting more or less mould elements to said first and second axis.

It is a second object of this invention to provide a system for bending material of considerable lengths.

This second object is achieved by means of a system which comprises at least two devices according to any one of the preceding embodiments and which comprises first connecting means to each time interconnect the mould halves of the at least two devices, and comprises second connecting means, to interconnect, each time, the adjusting slats of the at least two devices.

Material that is longer than the axes of two mould halves of an individual device cannot be bent by that device. Because the system comprises multiple devices which can be interconnected by means of said first and second connecting means, the system allows to bend material that is longer than an individual device.

In an embodiment of the system, the system further comprises third connecting means to connect the first axis of the first device with the first axis of the second device, and to connect the second axis of the first device with the second axis of the second device. In this embodiment, the corresponding axes of at least two devices are interconnected by means of said third connecting means. In this way, it is certain that the corresponding mould halves of the devices are aligned and the material is thus bent in a correct way.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will hereafter be explained in further detail by way of the following description and the accompanying drawings.

FIGS. 1-3 illustrate schematically the operation of a first embodiment of the device according to the invention.

FIGS. 4-6 illustrate schematically the operation of a second embodiment of the device according to the invention.

FIG. 7 illustrates a perspective view of a device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 illustrates a perspective view of the adjusting slats and adjusting means of the device of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 shows a detail of FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 illustrates another perspective view of the adjusting slats and adjusting means of the device of FIG. 7.

FIG. 11 shows a detail of FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 shows a cross-sectional view of a part of the device in FIG. 7.

EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

Although the present invention will hereinafter be described with respect to particular embodiments and with reference to certain drawings, the invention is not limited thereto but only by the claims. The drawings shown here are merely schematic representations and are not limiting. In the drawings, the size of some of the elements may be exaggerated and not drawn on scale for illustrative purposes. The dimensions and the relative dimensions do not necessarily correspond to actual reductions to practice of the invention.

In addition, terms such as ‘first’, ‘second’, ‘third’, and the like are used in the description and in the claims in order to make a distinction between similar elements and not necessarily in order to indicate a sequential or chronological order. It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances and that the embodiments of the invention described herein are capable of operation in other sequences than described or illustrated herein.

Moreover, terms such as ‘top’, ‘bottom’, ‘above’, ‘under’ and the like in the description and the claims are used for descriptive purposes and not necessarily for describing relative positions. It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances and that the embodiments of the invention described herein are capable of operation in other orientations than described or illustrated herein.

It is to be noticed that the term ‘comprising’, or its derivatives, used in the claims, should not be interpreted as being restricted to the means listed thereafter; the term does not exclude other elements or steps. It is thus to be interpreted as specifying the presence of the stated features, integers, steps or components as referred to, but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps or components, or groups thereof. Thus, the scope of an expression such as ‘a device comprising means A and B’ should not be limited to devices consisting only of components A and B. It means that with respect to the present invention, the only corresponding components of the device are A and B.

FIGS. 1-3 illustrate schematically the operation of a first embodiment of the device according to the invention, wherein the adjusting slats are moved in height direction to adjust the width of the mould opening. FIGS. 1 and 2 show a portion of the holder 3 and the adjusting slats 20 arranged thereon, located in a recess 28 and against an inner wall 30 of the holder, in two different situations. FIG. 3 shows a cross section of the situation of FIG. 2. In the situation of FIG. 1, none of the adjusting slats 20 have been moved, and the corresponding mould half can move over the upper surface 27 of the holder and over the adjusting slats, up till against the inner wall 30 of the holder 3. The inner wall 30 of the holder 3 forms in this situation the stop for the outer wall of the mould half. In the situation of FIGS. 2 and 3, a number of the adjusting slats 20 have been moved in height direction and the stop position for the outer wall of the mould half has been moved inward.

FIGS. 4-6 illustrate schematically the operation of a second embodiment of the device according to the invention, wherein the adjusting slats are provided with recesses 25 and are moved in longitudinal direction to adjust the width of the mould opening. FIGS. 4 and 5 show a portion of the holder 3 and the adjusting slats 20 arranged thereon, located in a recess 28 and against an inner wall 30 of the holder, in two different situations. FIG. 6 shows a cross section of the situation of FIG. 5. In the situation of FIG. 4, none of the adjusting slats 20 have been moved, which, in this embodiment means that the inner adjusting slat forms the stop for the outer wall of the mould half, i.e., the narrowest mould opening. In the situation of FIGS. 5 and 6, a number of the adjusting slats 20 have been moved in longitudinal direction and the stop position for the outer wall of the mould half has been moved outward.

FIG. 7 illustrates a perspective view of a device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein the operating principle according to FIG. 4-6 is applied. The device 1 comprises a mould 2 and a holder 3 for supporting the mould 2, more particularly, a number of interconnected mould and holder parts as described elsewhere herein, so that materials, e.g. steel sheets, of considerable lengths, can be bent with this device. The mould 2 is described in patent publication EP-A-1513628. The contents of this patent publication, EP-A-1513628, are hereby incorporated integrally into the present patent application. Therefore, not every part of the mould 2 will be described in detail, but only the parts of importance to the present invention.

The mould 2 comprises a first mould half 4 and a second mould half 5. The first 4 and second mould halves 5 each extend in a longitudinal direction 6 and together enclose a mould cavity extending in the longitudinal direction. The first mould half 4 comprises a set of parallel first elements 8 which each comprise a first extension 9 and an outer wall 17 (see FIG. 12). The second mould half 5 comprises a set of parallel second elements each comprising a second extension and an outer wall. The first and second elements extend in a transverse direction and are arranged alternatingly in the longitudinal direction of the mould 2. The first elements are arranged at a first distance from each other to receive said second extension of the second elements between them. The second elements arranged at a second distance from each other to receive said first extension of the first elements between them. Preferably, the first and second elements have the same length, so that the first distance and the second distance are the same. In this way, the first and the second elements are identical, and can be produced in the same manner.

Said outer walls 17 of the first elements 8 of the first mould half 4 together form the first outer wall 17 of the first mould half 4, and said outer walls of the second elements of the second mould half 5 together form the second outer wall of the second mould half 5. The first 4 and the second mould half 5 are moveable relative to each other in said transverse direction to adjust the width of the mould cavity. Moving the mould halves can be done by manual operations, but preferably by displacement means 19, which are integrated into the holder 3.

An embodiment of the displacement means is shown in FIG. 12. They comprise an electrically driven screw system, with which a sliding element 23 can be moved in the transverse direction of the holder. On this sliding element there is arranged a cam 24, which engages a slot 26 in the mould element 8 below. It is clear that the displacement means may also be carried out in other ways known to the skilled person within the context of this invention.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the device 1 further comprises a first plurality of adjusting slats 20 and a second plurality of adjusting slats 21, which each extend in the longitudinal direction and are supported by the holder 3, in recesses 28 (as shown in FIG. 6). The first adjusting slats 20 form a variable stop for the first outer wall 17 and the second adjusting slats 21 form a variable stop for the second outer wall. The adjusting slats 20, 21 are provided with recesses 25 and are movable in the longitudinal direction by means of the gripping means 6, for adjusting the stop position of the corresponding mould half. These gripping means 6 comprise on both sides a cam 7 moveable in transverse direction, which is moved laterally into a recess under the slats for selecting the slats 20, 21 to be moved. This cam can be moved back and forth with the aid of an electrically driven system, shown in FIG. 6. The gripping means 6 further comprise pneumatically driven pulling elements 10, 11, which are provided for moving the cam 7 and the slats 20, 21 which the cam engages together in the longitudinal direction (as shown in FIG. 5). The gripping means 6 are not loaded during the folding or bending operations performed with the device 1, and can thus be executed lightly. It is clear that the gripping means may also be carried out in other ways known to the skilled person within the context of this invention. For example, for embodiments according to the operating principle of FIGS. 1-3, rather, hydraulic gripping means are suitable, considering the movement of slats in a height direction against gravity.

The holder 3 has two inner walls, one 30 of which is shown in FIGS. 1-6. The walls 30 engage the recesses 28 in which the slats 20, 21 are accommodated and serve, on the one hand, for absorbing lateral compressive forces during bending or folding operations, and, on the other hand, as a stop for the corresponding mould half 4, 5, when all adjusting slats 20, 21 have been moved ‘out of the way’. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 7-12, adjusting slats are provided on both sides of the device 1, but it is also possible to provide the adjusting slats only on one side of the device. Providing the adjustable stop on both sides has the advantage that the centre of the mould opening can always be kept in the same position, such that the pressing element, which, in use, is pressed downward from above in the centre of the mould opening to perform a bending operation, can have a fixed position. More specifically, it is then not necessary to move this pressing element and the device 1 laterally relative to each other if the width of the mould opening has been adjusted.

The device of FIG. 7 is a system in which several holder and mould parts are interconnected to extend the obtained mould opening. The adjusting slats 20, 21 are interconnected by means of connecting elements 29, shown in detail in FIG. 11. These connecting elements 29 are planar elements which fit into corresponding recesses in the ends of the slats, such that the slats and the connecting elements are moveable along each other. It is clear that these connecting elements may also be embodied in other ways known to the skilled person within the scope of this invention. 

1. A device for bending material, comprising: a mold comprising a first and a second mold half, which in each case extend in a longitudinal direction of the device and which together enclose a mould cavity extending in the longitudinal direction; and a holder configured for supporting the mold; wherein the first mold half comprises a set of parallel first elements, each first element comprising a first extension and a first outer wall, and the second mold half comprises a set of parallel second elements, each second element comprising a second extension and a second outer wall, wherein the first and second elements extend in a transverse direction of the device and are arranged alternatingly in the longitudinal direction, and wherein the first elements are arranged at a first distance from each other to receive said second extension of the second elements between them, and wherein the second elements are arranged at a second distance from each other to receive said first extension of the first elements between them, wherein said first outer walls of the first elements of the first mold half together form a first outer wall of the first mold half and the outer walls of the second elements of the second mold half together form a second outer wall of the second mold half, wherein the first and the second mold halves are arranged moveably in said transverse direction on the holder, such that they can be shifted relative to each other, to adjust a width of the mold cavity, wherein the device further comprises adjusting means for adjusting the width of the mold cavity, the adjusting means comprising a plurality of adjusting slats that are arranged movably in the longitudinal direction on the holder at a level of the outer wall of at least one of the mold halves, wherein each of the plurality of adjusting slats is configured to be displaced to form a stop for the corresponding outer wall of the corresponding mold half, and wherein the adjusting means comprise gripping means for gripping and moving a number of the plurality of adjusting slats to adjust a position of the stop.
 2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the gripping means are provided to move the plurality of adjusting slats in a height direction.
 3. The device according to claim 2, wherein the gripping means are hydraulically driven and configured to lift a variable number of adjusting slats of the plurality of adjusting slats.
 4. The device according to claim 1, wherein each adjusting slat of the plurality of adjusting slats has a plurality of recesses configured to receive the corresponding outer walls of the mold elements, and wherein the gripping means are configured to move the adjusting slats in the longitudinal direction.
 5. The device according to claim 4, wherein the gripping means are pneumatically or electrically driven and are configured to grip a variable number of the plurality of adjusting slats and to move the variable number of the plurality of adjusting slats in the longitudinal direction.
 6. The device according to claim 1, wherein the holder is provided with a first and a second inner wall in the longitudinal direction, which respectively serve as a first stop and a second stop for the first and the second outer wall of the corresponding mold half if none of the plurality of adjusting slats serves as stop for the corresponding outer wall.
 7. The device according to claim 6, wherein the plurality of adjusting slats is divided into a first set and a second set, wherein the first set serves as a stop for the first outer wall and the second set serves as a stop for the second outer wall.
 8. The device according to claim 7, wherein the adjusting slats in the first and second sets of adjusting slats touch each other, and at least one adjusting slat of the first set touches the first inner wall and at least one adjusting slat of the second set touches said second inner wall.
 9. The device according to claim 8, wherein the adjusting slats of the first and second sets of adjusting slats that are located between the the adjusting slats of the first and second sets of adjusting slats that serve as a stop for the corresponding outer wall, and the adjusting slat which touches the corresponding inner wall, form a whole.
 10. The device according to claim 6, wherein the first mold half is not moveable relative to the holder and wherein the first outer wall always touches said first inner wall.
 11. The device according to claim 10, wherein at least some adjusting slats of the plurality of adjusting slats touch each other and an adjusting slat of the plurality of adjusting slats touches said second inner wall, whereby the adjusting slats between the adjusting slat which serves as a stop for the second outer wall and the adjusting slat which touches the second wall form a whole.
 12. The device of claim 1, wherein the holder is a block having at least one a recess in the longitudinal direction provided to receive the plurality of adjusting slats.
 13. The device further comprising displacement means for moving the first mold half relative to the second mold half.
 14. The device according to claim 13, wherein the displacement means are integrated into the holder and are configured to engage slots provided in at least one of the first and second mold halves.
 15. The device in that claim 1, wherein the first and second mold halves respectively comprise a first and a second axis, which are oriented in the longitudinal direction and which are configured to attach to the first and second mold elements.
 16. A system comprising at least two interconnected devices according to claim 1, wherein the pluralities of the adjusting slats of the at least two interconnected devices are interconnected by connecting elements.
 17. A device for bending material, comprising: a mold comprising a first and a second mold half, each of which extend in a longitudinal direction of the device, the first and second mold half enclosing a mold cavity extending in the longitudinal direction, the first mold half comprising a set of parallel first elements, each first element comprising a first extension and a first outer wall, the second mold half comprising a set of parallel second elements, each second element comprising a second extension and a second outer wall, wherein the first and second elements extend in a transverse direction of the device and are arranged alternatingly in the longitudinal direction, wherein the first elements are arranged at a first distance from each other and the second elements are arranged at a second distance from each other, the first outer walls of the first elements of the first mold half together forming a first mold outer wall, the second outer walls of the second elements together forming a second mold outer wall; a holder configured to support the mold; a plurality of adjusting slats movably positioned on the holder, each of the plurality of adjusting slats being configured to form a stop for the first or second mold outer wall; and a grip configured to move the plurality of adjusting slats in the lateral direction, wherein the first and the second mold halves are configured to move relative to each other in the transverse direction on the holder. 